Last updated January 2022
Ideas to enthuse and engage young children at home
Did you know that objects have been used for centuries as teaching resources?
Throughout history, educators have used everyday objects to teach children about values and principles. During Victorian and Edwardian times, teachers made use of everyday objects as resources, because books and equipment were often expensive. The idea was for children to learn about life by looking at everyday objects, such as a carrot, a piece of coal, or familiar household items. Sometimes teachers used pictures of animals or stuffed animals. Often, objects were used to convey religious and moral truths.
An object lesson in the 1900s using a stuffed dog in a London school. Source: Lowndes, G. (1937) Silent Social Revolution, Oxford University Press.
An example of an object lesson for infants. Of course, the poorest would not have had a cup and saucer at home!
Source: Murche, V.T. (1897) Object Lessons for Infants, MacMillan, p.138.
Object lessons were popular around the world. Here is part of the Contents page for a teacher guide in America.
Source: Tyndall, C.H. (1896) Object-Lessons for Children, Fleming H. Revell.
The fascinating world of objects
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Children love unusual facts and figures. And so in our book, we provide snippets of knowledge about the objects we feature.
You can see examples by trying out our family quiz below (the answers can be seen on the final page of the activities section).
Do Britons eat more red or green apples?
Which football supporters sing a song about bubbles?
How many boxes in the UK do we use on average each year?
True or False: you are more likely to die from taking a selfie than a shark attack?
What is the world record for eating Cadbury Creme Eggs in one minute?
In 2012 a macaw called Zac opened how many canned drinks in 1 minute?
Where does the saying 'Shut yer Gob' come from?
Which islands does the word 'hoop' come from?
In which country was the world's first ice hotel built?
Extracts taken from Teaching on a Shoestring by Russell Grigg and Helen Lewis ISBN 9781785833076 © Russell Grigg and Helen Lewis, 2018 Illustrations © Les Evans, 2018
The world's greatest hoarder?
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Margaret Woodbury Strong was an American eccentric who collected more than 3 million household objects in her lifetime. This included 22,000 dolls!
Margaret Strong (1897-1969).
Source: Strong National Museum of Play